The overall power consumed in a computer chip depends on the hardware design as well as on the software being executed on the computer chip. Additionally, some software applications can consume significantly higher power than other software applications (e.g., up to five times). Since power dissipation and costs associated with maintaining a system are directly related, the worst case power dissipation is an important factor that should be considered in designing a system. The worst case power dissipation primarily affects the power supplies and cooling systems.